Located at 4594 San Bernardino St., Montclar, CA

Operating Hours: Monday through Saturday, 8am-4:30pm

I’m in the doldrums of summer and I haven’t visited a garden in months due to the heat. I was glad to have found this waterwise garden and test the theory of its survival in the peak of summer. The Waterwise Demonstration Garden is adjacent to the Chino Basin Water Conservation District’s offices. This water district serves the people in San Bernardino County but the garden is open for everyone.

There is a steel frame of a house which the garden uses as a trellis. This frame sets this garden into an imagined house with rooms. The rooms help section off a desert garden, a dry bed garden, a children’s play area, and sitting areas.

The garden mostly has native plants which are adaptable in the Southern California environment and will grow with low water usage. The abundance of trees in this location will help spur ideas for the homeowner who may be interested in using these types of trees. Seeing the trees and plants in person will give an indication of their height, size, and canopy cover. The trees provides shade for humans as well as shrubbery.

The container garden provides examples of native plants which can be grown in containers. Containers are good for the home which may be a rental or a smaller space. Whichever the situation, these containters can also be watered using a drip irrigation system.

Another “dry” bed is shown integrated with a pond.

There is also a section on lawn alternatives which are low water alternatives. I liked seeing how they looked in the middle of August. Visitors can touch these selections and for me, after hearing about carex sedge, it was nice to know what it actually looked and felt like. Yarrow was happily growing and staying deep green with blooms in spite of high temperatures.

Adjacent to the garden is an education center where the facility holds workshops on composting and landscaping. Outside tables also serve as the nursery where native plant sales are held on specific days.

The plantings in this area are mainly edible fruit including pomegrantes and citrus. There are also raised garden beds here to demonstration smell, feel, and taste, using herbs and succulents to represent these senses. While these garden beds were mainly set up for children, adults will find their sense revived with their interest. There is plenty for the children here. Along with the sensory garden, there are also outdoor musical instruments. Children can hit plastic and steel pipes strung like a xylophone for percussive sound.

Throughout the garden, there are plenty of birds flying around as they enjoy the trees and shrubs. The other insect you will notice are the butterflies. While I was at the garden for about an hour, there were about five different species of butterflies from monarchs, swallowtails, sulphur, cabbage whites, and a funeral duskywing. Native gardens attract native pollinators and this garden succeeds.

And adding to the lush landscape are several tortoises located in large pens at the border of the property. The tortoises are excellent reminders that gardens do not exist without wildlife and tortoises are some of the most delicate creatures that live in the desert. This particular tortoises is named “Sam” and he’s a South African turtle while the other tortoises are from the California desert.

Should you require more information about this garden, the plants, and their many events, there are numerous flyers located inside the building (along with the public restroom).

Chino Basin Water Conservation District’s Waterwise Community Garden is generous in its welcome and has numerous seating areas for anyone to come and visit and spend a day at the garden. In the warm summer days, it is substantially cooler under the canopy of the live oak trees and the sound of burbling water makes everything more peaceful.